5 National Guard Helicopters on Wildfire Duty This Weekend

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Aired 4/19/09

Five California National Guard helicopters will be pressed into service this weekend on the watch for wildfires. Lieutenant Colonel Laura Yeager with the California National Guard says there's an agreement with the state to use the military aircraft. She says there's a particular need right now because state firefighting equipment needs maintenance -- and their crews need some rest.

Yeager
: Mainly they wanted the capability in place should something occur to be able to fight it before it becomes a big fire. They call it initial attacks.

The helicopters to be used have the capability to drop water over fires. Yeager says it's likely that the helicopter crews will respond to two fires burning in the Santa Barbara and Fresno areas.